PHILADELPHIA -- A policy paper approved earlier this month by the International Association of Chiefs of Police advocating warning shots by officers to de-escalate confrontations was put into focus at the organization's annual conference this week.
Attendees at the IACP's convention and expo in Philadelphia were vocal when it came to their opinions on the provision included in the National Consensus Policy on Use of Force, according to USA Today.
"I'll be real candid, I think it's a stupid idea," Wilmington, N.C. Assistant Police Chief James Varrone during a town hall held as part of the conference on Sunday. "I thought the idea of warning shots and the dangers posed by such a policy went away decades ago or longer than I have been in law enforcement -- and that's been 31 years.''
The law enforcement official's beliefs were shared by many of his colleagues at the event hosted by the Police Executive Research Forum.
Darrel Stephens, the outgoing executive director of the Major City Chiefs Association, said his group declined to "sign off" on the policy earlier this year, mainly due to the provision on warning shots.
"We have had enough people killed or injured as bystanders over the years by errant gunfire without endorsing a strategy like this for police," he said. "Our position is: where do the bullets go? It's as simple as that. Warning shots only put other people at risk and (the strategy) may only invite return gunfire from the source of the problem you are trying to stop."
IACP Deputy Executive Director Terrence Cunningham said that he believed that warning shots should only be used in the most extreme situations.
"We strongly discourage it," he told attendees, "but if you absolutely found yourself in a position where it could serve to de-escalate a situation then we should leave it to the determination of the officer on the street."
Fraternal Order of Police Jim Pasco -- who collaborated with 11 other law enforcement groups on the policy -- defended the provision, saying that it was only included as a suggestion and that all possibilities should be exhausted in order to reduce tensions.
"You could nit-pick any kind of document like this," he said. "This is a statement of best practices."
Chuck Wexler, executive director of the Police Executive Research Forum, said warning shots have been banned by most police department for decades, and that he doesn't see that changing anytime soon.
"There has never been any real discussion at all in terms of change," he said. "It's been an established policy for the better part of 40 years that warning shots are prohibited."
